Saturday, July 28, 2012

This is the first time that the Indian squad is participating in the Olympic games with full preparation and it is the biggest contingent to represent the country at the games so far. This year a total of 81 athletes are taking part in various sporting events for a chance to win medals and bring glory back home. The team was supported by the government of India and other private sponsors for proper training and sporting facilities of world class standard to compete with the other world class athletes. So this year India has high hopes of bringing back many more medals than it has done so far in the history of it's Olympic sports. There are many women also taking part in various sporting events, the hopes for medals being on archery, badminton, athletic events, boxing, wrestling and shooting etc.

The Indian squad was seen in the march past proudly bearing the Indian flag. Sushil Kumar, the wrestler who won the bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics was given the honor as the flag bearer of the Indian team. Watch the you tube video of team India at the march past of the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics 2012, as they proudly wave to the crowds and the Chief of the IOA present in the stadium.

London 2012 Olympics Opening ceremony was a spectacular grand event directed by Danny Boyle. It was a show that had never been done before. It started off with a "bang"....by ringing of the largest harmonically tuned bell. It showcased the entire culture and essence and history of the city of London with a ride down the river Thames. The music, literature, stories and famous characters came to life right there in the stadium.

Danny managed to bring the meadows to the stadium, complete with the people and animals that included sheeps, horses et al..It was a story telling that captivated the audience like in the movies from the beginning to the end in a truly grand spectacular fashion. You can watch the entire opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics on you tube video.

The main highlights of the entire show were the sequence showcasing the industrial revolution, lighting of the Olympic rings, entry of James Bond and the Queen of England declaring the games open.

"The Isles of Wonder" directed by Danny Boyle is inspired by William Shakespeare's "The Tempest". It takes you on a journey across the famous landmarks of London showing you the people, culture, music, sports and history as the introductory sequence to the grand opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Travel down the river Thames on this epic journey to reach the Olympic stadium where the 30th edition of the games are to begin their saga. The ceremony begins by striking of the huge bell that is the first of its kind and harmonically tuned.

Daniel Craig as James Bond goes to fetch Queen Elizabeth at her residence in Buckingham Palace and escorts her in a waiting helicopter, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh to make a grand entry to the waiting crowds at the Olympic stadium in the true James Bond style....by jumping off the helicopter alongwith the Queen..!!! Did she really jump??

Rowan Atkinson, popularly known as Mr. Bean made his entry in the London symphony orchestra of Chariots of fire directed by Simon Raphael as a tribute to the British Film Industry...in the true "Bean" style. His comic antics are a pleasure to watch as he plays his part in the symphony. Humor at it's best...!

The video showcases a torch montage featuring the Olympic torch from 1948 in Wembley to its present journey to London. It is carried by a number of people and celebrities, sports people all across the city and finally makes a grand entry on the river Thames in a boat accompanied by David Beckham, against the backdrop of the London Bridge to hand the torch to Sir Steve Redgrave (five time Olympic Gold winner) who makes the grand entry into the stadium of the London Olympics.

The Olympic torchis carried by Sir Steve Redgrave, five time Olympic gold winner who hands it over to the young team to carry it all the way to the grand cauldron to light the petals, which rise high up in the air to make a huge torch, in a truly spectacular display.

The games are declared open by the Queen of England....! Let the games begin!

Friday, July 27, 2012

The London Olympics 2012 will begin today 27th July with a grand opening ceremony that kicks off at 9:00 PM London Time (4 PM ET) and will be broadcast live on NBC at 7:30 PM ET. The whole show will be no more than three hours and is being directed by none other than the Oscar winning British film director Danny Boyle along with acclaimed director Stephen Daldry. The opening ceremony has been named the "Isle of Wonder" as inspired by William Shakespeare's "The Tempest." Watch London Olympics 2012 from July 27th - 12th AugustLive on You Tube (The Official Olympic Channel by the IOC). Watch Live: Opening Ceremony on 28 July 1:20 (IST). Live streaming of the London 2012 Olympic Games will begin in 64 territories on July 27th 2012.

The grand ceremony will be flagged off with the sound of the world's largest harmonically tuned bell.You can watch every event of the London Games streamed LIVE on NBCOlympics.com. However, NBC is available only to citizens in the US. One can also watch the events of theLondon Olympics Live on BBC iPlayer if you are in the UK. BBC TV will provide the most comprehensive coverage of an Olympic games in broadcasting history, with up to 2,500 hours of live coverage.

BBC Sport will broadcast all 2,500 hours of competitive action at London 2012 via its new live interactive video player. It gives viewers access to up to 24 live HD streams and complete control of what you want to watch, when you want to watch it. Read More...

London Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony

London Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony:

The grand opening ceremony of the London Olympics 2012 is expected to blow your mind and be much more spectacular than the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.It is promising itself to be the biggest spectacle that has ever been seen so far.

London will showcase 70 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens and nine geese....in contrast to the pounding drummers and a cauldron lighter of the Beijing Olympics.

One will get to witness the British pop culture, music, literature, a dash of James Bond in the middle along with the Beatles Paul McCartney. Danny Boyle's Isles of Wonder will also showcase the green and pleasant land of meadows, farms, cottages, village cricket matches and bird song, as well as dwell on Britain's darker industrial past.

"I would have thought the difficulty is how you cram in all that is great about our country," British Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday. "Whether it is sport, art, literature, history, contribution to world events, there are so many things to celebrate about our country that packing all that in to these hours must be a pretty tough task. But I am confident they have done a good job."

The Queen of England has a role to play in the opening ceremony. Her entry will be a key part of the show, but the details are being kept under wraps, so you have to just wait and watch. All in all there will be 18,000 performers in the show and around 10,000 volunteers inside the Olympic stadium. With Danny Boyle at the helm of affairs, it is but a given that AR Rahman will also have a role to play. The Indian music maestro has composed a track for the inaugural ceremony and it celebrates the Indian influence in UK culture. It is a Punjabi track and will be part of a medley in the Olympics Opening ceremony.

Among other stars, Muhammad Ali, David Beckham and Haile Gebrselassie will also be a part of the star parade. One will also get to witness some of the literary stars come to life, like Harry Potter, Alice, Captain Hook, Oliver twist and James Bond and last but not the least, a 40-foot Voldemort....who scares them all away!

This year marks the 30th edition of the Olympic Games, with a total of 204 countries participating in the games.

This year also boasts of the highest number (4,847) of women athletes that have ever taken part in any Olympics so far, and nearly every country has women participating in its teams.

There are 81 athletes from the Indian Contingent that include 23 women.

There are a total of 10,000 participating athletes in all.

The cost of the games is 9.3bn pounds - most expensive so far.

The smallest delegation will be from Nauru with only 1 athlete, who is a weightlifter.

The most obvious legacy for London is Olympic Park, with the 80,000-capacity stadium that will host the opening ceremony and other new venues. It is built on formerly derelict, polluted industrial land in the east of the city that bore the brunt of bombing in World War II and, for centuries, concentrated London's stinkiest industries and its poor.